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Complaints Mount Against Gov't's New Lunch Menu...ETA: my response.

In Wisconsin, high school athletes are complaining about not getting enough to eat each day, due to the skimpy new school lunch menu mandated by the United States Department of Agriculture and First Lady Michelle Obama.

The story we published earlier this week on that subject is unfortunately not unique. Students across the country are complaining about the new school lunch regulations.

Perhaps the real motive is to starve students into slimming down. Just ask students in Pierre, South Dakota who, too, are in an all-out revolt.

"I know a lot of my friends who are just drinking a jug of milk for their lunch. And they are not getting a proper meal," middle school student Samantha Gortmaker told Keloland.com.

Despite the fact that the new regulations have increased the cost of a lunch 20 to 25 cents per plate, it’s not pleasing students.

Some are throwing away their vegetables while others are adapting to the rules by becoming industrious. In New Bedford, Massachusetts, students have created a black market - for chocolate syrup. The kiddie capitalists are smuggling in bottles of it and selling it by the squeeze, according to SouthCoastToday.com.

Nancy Carvalho, director of food services for New Bedford Public Schools, was quoted as saying that hummus and black bean salads have been tough sells in elementary cafeterias. That means even smaller children are going through the day fighting hunger pains, which can never be considered a good thing.

One government official tried to put the blame on the students.

"One thing I think we need to keep in mind as kids say they're still hungry is that many children aren't used to eating fruits and vegetables at home, much less at school. So it's a change in what they are eating. If they are still hungry, it's that they are not eating all the food that's being offered," USDA Deputy Undersecretary Janey Thornton was quoted as saying.

Ms. Thornton just put her finger on the problem. The government is trying to impose a new diet that children are not accustomed to. It’s not reasonable to expect them to either eat what the government deems healthy or go hungry.

ETA: I haven't had the opportunity to read all the responses to this post. I have seen a combination of PRO's and CON's toward the new gov't program. Most schools have health programs that, in part, teach about healthy eating. Introducing healthy food choices to kids is a good thing, but taking away a kid's home packed lunch and forcing the kid to purchase a school lunch is an overreach.

People want kids to take more responsibility for themselves, yet some want to control what and how much a child eats. There is irony in there somewhere.

I can't believe they are throwing out veg, shame on them. Didn't their mummies and daddies teach them about how they should be thankful for living where there is such a bounty of food when there are children starving to death in the world? Hang on, lets wait while they google it on their new IPhones. :oP

Emm hmm it surely plays a part.Hell when I was a kid I ate alot of the same junk kids today do (except mcdonalds wwas a rare thing) and I was thin.I walked everywhere and remained active but still ate like hell OFTEN but never got fat.I drank sodas and koolaid..ate doritoes and pizza.Why is it that I often ate the same foods that are helping make kids fat today but I was never fat? Most of my friends growing up were the same way.

Quoting buttersworth:

yeah, we should tackle him for that !

first off, it's MY job as a parent to ensure my children are healthy - not the govt

second, obama is not a nutritionist, he's a SMOKING, lying politician

third, the GMOs, growth hormones and antibiotics in our foods are making kids over weight if anything

this whole childhood obesity thing is a scam

Quoting PrincessMarina:

Oh and btw lets attack Obama for... OMG.... For.....

TRYING TO TACKLE CHILDHOOD OBESITY AND MAKE OUR KIDS HEALTHIER AND LIVE LONGER!

My oldest son doesn't eat at school. The school asked me to send his lunches because now they have more foods on the menu that he is allergic too. They also told me that he hadn't been eating his lunch before and was concerned that he would get hungry. He is allergic to wheat, milk, eggs, beef, all nuts, plums, lettuce, peas, peanuts, and a number of other things i can't remember right now off the top of my head. He loves taking his lunch to school. He is going through a major growth spurt right now, so he is eating like a little baby bear. for lunch today, He made himself 2 sunbutter and peach jam sadwiches, and 2 fruit cups. He told me we needed banana's, and apples for lunch. He also asked for us to get some kind of cracker he can have instead of chips. It's extremely expensive to shop at the health food store.

As for his little brother, he doesn't have as many allergies, mostly just eggs, and nuts. He loves his veggies, and salads. Both boys and me don't eat alot of meat either. Mostly chicken and fish, but even then we eat more steamed veggies. My oldest won't touch a raw veggie yet. but he LOVES green beans, and broccoli floretts and sweet carrots. As for spinache, i stuff the chicken with it so it is disquised. My boys also love eggplant. I can't even get it to the pan to bake before they are asking for it. So when I'm out of squash, I will fry eggplant in italian breadcrumbs, and olive oil. Then I make pene, or angel hair pasta, place the eggplant on top, top with a little heated maranara sauce and just a tiny pinch of shredded cheese, and I have 2 happy hungry little boys. I don't eat pasta, or much bread, so I end up just having a salad, or rice. My boys eat healthy for the most part, by their own choices. We rarily go out to eat, and only when they are really good, and have done their homework really good for me, do they get to go to Burger King or McDonald's.

I grew up on school lunches and breakfasts (we were dirt poor so it was paid for too) and I cant imagine being ungrateful for anything I was given in that context. The fact that kids are choosing to not eat what's provided in what seems like an almost passive aggressive revolt... it's stupid. Where the hell has their gratitude gone?! Have none of them been taught that there are indeed starving kids everywhere that would be happy to eat the food they are turning their noses up at?

So no, I'm not answering the actual question posed at the end of the OP, but really? The whole topic poses to me a much bigger question. What the hell are we doing raising a bunch of ungrateful brats?

As for those that might bring up the bigger portions for those that need them (which I hope are simply athletes that need more protein) how about a small fee for a slightly larger portion? Easy.

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